Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I’M a great believer when faced with the challenge of driving in a new country that you must get behind the wheel as soon as you possibly can. There’s nothing else for it.
My next words of wisdom are simple … do not attempt to do it with your husband in the vehicle.
Instead, have your phone fully charged, money and a full tank of petrol along with some sort of GPS. Then, you’re off without the extra added stress of your beloved yelling ‘you’re on the wrong side of the road’ every few minutes.
I’m going to be honest now, so don’t shoot me, but I think driving in Bahrain isn’t too bad, although, had we arrived directly from the UK, I may have formed a different opinion.
For me it was the loss of confidence due to being out of my familiar territory that caused my knuckles to go white whilst grasping the steering wheel of my rental car those first few weeks.
In my experience the onus is on ‘mum’ to figure out the route to school and back, locate the ATM, supermarket, doctor and vet … the list seems endless. The elusive petrol stations had me breaking out in a cold sweat whilst driving round in circles with my fuel warning light flashing angrily.
Quickly, I learned that the incessant beeping of horns at traffic lights is to alert me to move within a milli-second of them turning green. This perhaps makes sense having discovered that none of the traffic lights appear to be synched, hence the trails of traffic jams.
Sensibly, I stay clear of the fast lane to avoid the tailgaters pushing me out the way. Sequoia and FJ Cruiser drivers obviously rule the roads in Bahrain and I have developed a penchant for the word ‘plonker’.
It isn’t too bad …
